James Rubin

James P. Rubin serves as Special Envoy and Coordinator for the U.S. Department of State’s Global Engagement Center. Mr. Rubin has more than 35 years of experience in foreign policy. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Rubin served as a diplomat, political advisor, commentator, professor, and broadcaster. Before joining the State Department, Mr. Rubin served as Diplomatic Counsellor to the Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, advising Secretary General Mathias Cormann on global affairs. Prior to that, he served as Chair for International Policy and Strategy at Ballard Partners, based in Washington DC. He also was a Contributing Editor at Politico, and a Visiting Scholar at Oxford University’s Rothermere American Institute. From 1989 to 1993, Mr. Rubin served as Professional Staff Member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and Senior Foreign Policy Adviser to Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. During the Clinton administration, Mr. Rubin served as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and Chief Spokesman for Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright. In 1999, he was a special negotiator to secure the demobilization of the Kosovo Liberation Army. Mr. Rubin also served as Senior Adviser and Spokesman for the U.S. Representative to the United Nations Madeleine K. Albright (1993-1996), and Research Director for the nonpartisan Arms Control Association (1985-1989). Mr. Rubin served as a Commissioner of the Port Authority and Counselor to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, and Co-Executive Editor for the launch of Bloomberg View. Mr. Rubin was an anchor and commentator for SKY News, a Visiting Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics, a partner for the financial advisory firm the Brunswick Group, and co-anchor of the PBS series Wide Angle. In 1998, Mr. Rubin was the recipient of Columbia University’s John Jay Award for Distinguished Professional Achievement. In 2000, he received the State Department’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Rubin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and an M.A. degree in International Affairs from Columbia University.